


Something Lost, Something Found

by vincentvandope



Series: Howlkyuu!! [3]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Gen, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-17 01:35:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,997
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29092125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vincentvandope/pseuds/vincentvandope
Summary: Life goes on for everyone and the Karasuno pack is not an exception. The Tokyo training camp is still happening and the team intends to set their focus back on volleyball, but things keep disappearing from the dorms, and they will not let this mysterious thief mess with their trip.(a sequel to Howlkyuu!! and The Hunter’s Moon)
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, Azumane Asahi/Nishinoya Yuu, Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio, Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou, Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi, Shimizu Kiyoko/Tanaka Ryuunosuke, Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Series: Howlkyuu!! [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2127321
Kudos: 19





	1. Begin Again

It was still dark outside when Hinata got up, scrambling to silence his alarm clock. When Kageyama had told him to meet him at five in the morning, he hadn’t realized that it meant in the dead of night. Hinata had never woken up to darkness during the summer months, and he deeply wished he hadn’t broken his streak.

  
He ate a light breakfast and dug around the mess of gym clothes in his closet for something that was both clean and made him look good. He managed it. It wasn’t a date, he didn’t think, they were just going out for a run together. And yet, he felt the butterflies.

  
Kageyama was already waiting for him when he walked out, leaning against the outer wall of his home, under the Hinata nameplate. “Hey.”

  
“Hi,” Hinata answered with a small smile. It felt foreign on his face. It had only been a week since the Hunter’s Moon, and there hadn’t been much reason to smile in the meantime. He felt like he’d forgotten how to do it. Kageyama didn’t smile back at him, but he hadn’t been big on smiles before everything went down.

  
In the silence that followed their greetings, Hinata’s nervousness multiplied. They hadn’t talked about their kiss (well, two) or even been alone together since that night, so he’d been excited when Kageyama invited him to his morning run, but now neither of them seemed to know what to say and he could feel the color rising to his cheeks.

  
Kageyama gave him a quick peck on the lips. Hinata’s usual grin came back with a vengeance. The setter laughed. “That’s more like it. Come on, I don’t want to be late.”

  
“Late for what?”

  
“You’ll know when we get there.”

  
They ran. Soon, they were out of Hinata’s town, crossing the mountain that separated it from Sendai. There were no cars, so they jogged next to each other. They could hear only their steps, their breaths, and the sounds of the wildlife around them. It wasn’t a date, but Hinata thought that it was beautiful enough to count as one.

  
When they reached the highest part of the road, Kageyama veered off into the mountain.

  
“What are you doing?”

  
“We’re almost there!”

  
They followed a hiking trail and reached the peak in less than a minute. There, in the flattened top of the mountain, next to a couple of interpretative signs and a bench, was a tablecloth and a backpack.

  
“What is this?”

  
Kageyama went ahead without him and started emptying the backpack. “A picnic date.”

  
“This is a date!?”

  
Kageyama looked at the thermos he was about to put down and back at him. “Yes…? Did I do something wrong?”

  
“No! What? Of course not!” In spite of the giddiness, Hinata couldn’t stop himself from yawning. “It’s great, but I’m organizing the next date, and I won’t make you wake up in the middle of the night for it!”

  
“Oh, so you don’t like the date!?”

  
“No, no! I love it!” One of Hinata’s eyes was watering from his yawn. “I just… love sleeping too…”

  
“Well, excuse me for wanting to watch the sunrise with you!”

  
Hinata realized in that moment that the sky had been lightening up. Dawn was about to happen. “I’m sorry I complained. I love it. This is so cool and thoughtful! Thank you, Kageyama.”

  
“Stop it. It’s nothing.” Kageyama was blushing, so he looked down at the food. “And you could call me Tobio when we’re alone.”

  
“Okay. Are you going to call me Shoyo?”

  
“Yes.”

  
Hinata sat down with him. “Do it.”

  
Kageyama frowned. “Shoyo.” Hinata covered his mouth and started giggling uncontrollably. “If you’re going to laugh like that every time, I’ll go back to Hinata.”

  
“No! I’ll get used to it. I’m fine.”

  
He raised an eyebrow. “Shoyo.” Hinata giggled so hard that he lost balance. “I hate you.”

  
“You don’t! You like me!”

  
Kageyama looked at the sky and shook his head. “Don’t make me regret it. I think the sun is coming up.”

  
It was. They watched the sun rising above Sendai while eating the sandwiches Kageyama had prepared in silence. Hinata wiped away a couple of tears of happiness. Kageyama either didn’t notice or just didn’t say anything about it.

  
The sun kept getting higher and higher until it was time to get a move on. They had class that day, after all. Kageyama was folding the tablecloth while Hinata checked that they weren’t leaving any trash behind. He walked around the peak and found, in the other side of the information panels, a missing person’s poster. Mr. Takeda’s smiling face looked at him from it.

  
After a week of lying to everyone who asked him about the teacher, of participating in the searches Hinata knew would lead to nothing, of grieving his death in secret, he'd finally had a moment of distraction. But his ghost had found him even here.

  
He ripped the poster from the sign and then ripped it again, and again. “What the hell are you doing back there?”

  
Hinata looked up at Kageyama, who just looked like a dark blur through his watery eyes. He grabbed his fists and forced them open, taking the crumpled pieces of paper from them. Hinata sat on the grass and wiped his tears away, but they wouldn’t stop. Kageyama put the torn poster with the rest of their garbage and sat with him, holding him so Hinata’s face would rest on his shoulder. Hinata felt a teardrop land on his ear and hugged him as tight as he could.

  
. . .

  
Volleyball practice had been cancelled for the past week, as the team had been helping the other volunteers comb through the city and its surroundings in looking for the missing teacher to keep up the charade, but after so many days without any results, the search parties had been called off. While the sadness they displayed wasn’t fake, they were all privately relieved to finally stop.

  
They were at their first practice since Takeda’s death. The whole team was waiting in the gym, but Coach Ukai wasn’t there, and Hinata didn’t want to ask Daichi if he was going to come. Judging by the captain’s looks at the door, he didn’t know either.

  
The team had started warming up by the time the coach arrived, apologizing for his tardiness.

  
“Thank you for coming back,” Daichi said.

  
Coach Ukai’s eyes widened. “You thought I wouldn’t?” His voice was sad, but his face quickly turned angry. “Two laps around the gym. Anyone else who thought I would just abandon you like that can start running too.” Suga looked at the coach guiltily and joined Daichi. “Oh, I can see the surprise in all of your eyes. You doubted me, and you’re gonna make it up to me with your sweat. Everybody up, now!” The boys rose to their feet and joined their alphas. The coach turned to the team managers. “I meant you two as well,” he said, crossing his arms. “I can’t believe you all think so little of me. C’mon!”

  
Kiyoko smiled and joined the group. Yachi looked at the floor. “I’m sorry. If I had realized earlier that he… maybe he wouldn’t have…”

  
“Nonsense. I want no apologies from you, sweetheart.” He gave her an attempt of a smile. “But I do want you to run two laps around the gym like everyone else. Chop, chop!” She nodded, making tears fly, and got behind the older girl.

  
When everyone was done and back to stretching, the vice-principal opened the door. He looked around cautiously and kept a hand on his hairpiece. “Sawamura? A new faculty advisor has been assigned to the volleyball club.”

  
Daichi flinched from his words, but recovered fast. “Thank you. Should I go meet them?”

  
“Oh, no, she’s here. I don’t think she teaches any of you. She started today-“

  
“No,” Tanaka whispered behind Hinata.

  
“She’s our new Japanese literature teacher. She’s a Karasuno High School alumna that just graduated early with honors. Just our luck, because, well, the position was open, as you know.”

  
“No way,” Tanaka kept repeating under his breath. Hinata turned to him.

  
“What’s wrong?”

  
“I’m gonna kill her.”

  
“She doesn’t know much about volleyball, but she was very interested in being your faculty advisor. Some of you know her already, so I expect she’ll be a good fit. Karasuno team, I introduce you to-“

  
“The incredible, the inimitable, the one and only…” a voice exclaimed, making the vice-principal duck in fear, “Tanaka Saeko, the coolest older sister to ever walk the earth!”

  
A blond woman with short hair and bangs appeared in the doorway. Hinata couldn’t see the resemblance, but the personality certainly matched her brother’s.

  
Noya started clapping and jumping around. “Big sis! You’re joining the team?”

  
“Of course I am!” She was all smiles and energy, and it was contagious. Except for Tanaka, who was sulking and shooting daggers at her. “Oh, Ryu, don’t look at me like that!”

  
“Good luck!” The vice-principal walked away from the gym. Hinata could hear a sigh of relief in the distance.

  
“You didn’t tell me you were doing this!”

  
“I’m pretty sure I did...” She brought a hand to her chin and pretended to be deep in thought. “You were lying on the couch all sad and saying that you didn’t even know if they were gonna let you keep playing volleyball without a teacher and I said ‘you guys will keep playing volleyball even if I have to go yell at your school myself’. Remember?”

  
He scoffed like a little kid getting unfairly scolded and then his face dropped. “Please tell me you didn’t actually yell at them.”

  
“Of course I did! I would do anything for you! Besides, I’m so good at yelling at them that I got a job out of it. Am I the coolest big sister or what?”

  
“She really is,” Noya whispered to Tanaka.

  
Tanaka shrugged. “I guess you’re kinda cool.”

  
“Kinda?” She scoffed just like Tanaka. “Anyway, you’re the coach, right?” Saeko shook hands with Coach Ukai. “Nice to meet you!”

  
“Yeah. Same.” He looked wary. She was certainly different from Mr. Takeda.

  
“Well,” she started ruffling through her duffel bag, “I heard that you were invited to a training camp in Tokyo, so here are your permission slips. Bring them signed by your parents before we leave next Monday morning!”

  
Hinata turned to Coach Ukai. “We’re still going?”

  
He took one of the papers and smiled. “I guess we are.”


	2. The Wheels On The Bus Go Round and Stop

There had been a moment of pause when they realized Mr. Takeda wouldn’t be driving them to Tokyo. It seemed disrespectful to get on the bus without him, but Coach Ukai tried to make it normal by shouting at them. After Tanaka pleaded for her sister not to drive, the coach took the driver’s seat, and they left for Shinzen High.

  
Coach Ukai drove in silence as Saeko made her brother introduce everyone to her, and the trip was… fun. Spirits were reasonably high, and they all seemed excited to see Nekoma again and meet even more cool teams. Hinata was more than ready to forget about werewolves and hunters for a week and just focus on playing volleyball. The closer they got, the happier he felt. And then, their coach cursed, and the bus stopped.

  
“What happened?” Saeko got back to the copilot seat. “We got a flat tire?”

  
“No,” he slapped the steering wheel and groaned. “I’m not used to driving. I forgot to check the gas. We ran out.”

  
“Oh, we passed a gas station just now!” she exclaimed like it was no big deal. “I’ll go get us a can.”

  
“I’ll go,” he said, taking off his safety belt. “It’s my fault after all. You look after the kids. And we should also move the bus out of the way.”

  
It wasn’t such a hard task with a team of werewolves, but they pretended that it was, for Saeko’s sake. With the bus pushed into a rest area they found just ahead of them, the pack took the chance to stretch their legs while the coach left to get gas.

  
The rest area was just a lane with a couple stone tables and benches and a brick wall to protect it from the main road. Hinata went with Yamaguchi to explore it anyway.

  
There were posters announcing past and coming events stuck on top of even more posters, creating a collage of different colors and fonts. One of them was a missing person’s poster. A girl had gone missing in April, just after starting her third year of high school. There was a phone to contact if anybody found her. Suzuki Hina had been last seen with a black and white dotted dress and was assumed to be wounded from an animal attack, as they had found torn and bloodied pieces of the dress, as well as claw marks and pawprints, but they hadn’t found a body.

  
Yamaguchi frowned. “Animal attack… Do you think it was like our animal attacks?”

  
“Maybe. They didn’t find her.”

  
“Then why wouldn’t she have gone back to her family?” Tsukishima said, startling Hinata. “This was just a real animal attack. She’s probably dead somewhere.”

  
“Don’t say that!” Yamaguchi looked sadly at her picture. “It could be anything.”

  
“Maybe she was attacked by a werewolf but she didn’t survive the bite,” offered Kageyama.

  
“No!” Hinata turned around and started walking back to the bus. “I’m choosing to believe she’s okay. That poster is from months ago. Maybe they did find her but didn’t go back to take down all the posters. Maybe they’re just luckier than us.”

  
Kageyama jogged after him. “Sorry, you’re right. She’s fine.”

  
Hinata looked at him. He didn’t look like he believed it, but he didn’t want to keep talking about missing people.

  
Coach Ukai appeared at the end of the road and Hinata ran up to him and took the can. The coach and their new faculty advisor filled up the tank and they went on their way.

  
. . .

  
Their arrival had been amusing for Saeko. Her brother and the other boys had been greeting their friends when a kid with a mohawk had fallen to his knees at the sight of her.

  
“Karasuno has another girl?” He was crying.

  
Kiyoko walked up to her. “Just try to ignore him. He's harmless.”

  
Saeko looked at her with a raised eyebrow and crossed her arms. “Hey, brush head! I’m the new teacher for the club, and if I see you bothering my girls, we’ll have a problem!”

  
“Hey, punk!” Ryu ran before her. “Look at my sister or our managers again and I’ll kick you so hard the rest of your hair will grow back!”

  
Saeko laughed and high-fived her brother. When she looked at the mohawk kid again, she was afraid he might have actually passed out, but his team came to collect him, and the Karasuno moved on.

  
The Shinzen High coaches showed them to their rooms. Saeko got the farthest room from the stairs, after the one the girls would be sharing. The next one was Ukai’s, and then there was the big one all the boys would be in. Once she was fairly sure Ukai wouldn’t be coming out, she set her plan in motion.

  
Saeko knocked on the girls’ door. “Hey, girls! I’m so sorry to bother you!” She started playing with her hair. “It’s just that I have a really hard time sleeping in new places, and it would really help me if I didn’t sleep alone, you know?”

  
Kiyoko and Yachi exchanged a confused look. The senior asked, “would you like to sleep here?”

  
“Oh, no!” Saeko laughed and walked into the room. She grabbed one of the bedrolls and Yachi’s bag. “I like my room better. I’m sure you’ll like it too, Yachi! C’mon, you’re sleeping with me!”

  
The girl looked between Kiyoko and Saeko with a terrified look in her eyes. “I… what?”

  
“Let’s go!” Yachi let herself be dragged out by Saeko, too confused to oppose. “I hope you don’t mind,” she said to Kiyoko, giving her an innocent look. “If you don’t like sleeping alone either, I’m sure you can find someone to keep you company,” she smiled and turned her back on her, “sister-in-law.”

  
Kiyoko didn’t say anything, but Saeko wasn’t waiting for an answer. Presuming, correctly, that Kiyoko’s face was burning red, she guided the blond to her new room.

  
“Kinda cool…” she muttered, smacking her tongue. “I’m the coolest sister ever. He doesn’t deserve me! Right?”

  
“Who…? What…?”

  
Saeko laughed and slapped her back. “Oh, honey, you’re so lucky you met me. You don’t have an older sister, do you?” She shook her head, still looking dazed. “Well, you do now. I’m gonna have to toughen you up, girl!”

  
Yachi sighed. “Not again…”

  
“What?”

  
“Nevermind.” She took her bedroll and bag from her and started to settle in, shaking her head all the while.

  
. . .

  
Ukai was in a small room that was big enough for two, like the one he’d shared with Takeda in their visits to Nekoma High. But this time there was only one bedroll.

  
Ukai set his bag down, looked at the time, and walked over to the window. It was very bright out, a hot July morning, so he could barely see his crying reflection on the glass.

  
There was a knock on his door. He wiped his eyes. “Come in!”

  
“Sorry to bother you,” Daichi opened the door, “it’s just that Hinata lost his English notes. He swears he brought them to study. So if you see them around… yeah.”

  
Ukai knew that he had noticed his crying. “I’ll keep an eye out. Being Hinata, he probably just didn’t grab them, though.”

  
“That’s what I told him, but he says he’s sure. He says that someone must have taken them.”

  
“Who would want to take Hinata’s English notes?” Ukai snorted. “Didn’t he fail?”

  
“Yeah, that’s why he brought them here. I also don’t think there’s a thief, but he’s so positive he took them that he is actually upset.” Daichi hesitated at the door. “If you… you could sleep in our room. If you don’t want to sleep here alone. I’m sure the team won’t mind.”

  
Ukai forced a laugh. “No, don’t worry about it.”

  
“You don’t have to be alone.”

  
“I’m going out for drinks with the coaches tonight. I don’t wanna get back and wake anyone up. I’ll be fine,” he said confidently. He felt himself about to tear up again. “Thank you for offering.”

  
“If you change your mind, you know where our room is.”

  
“Don’t worry.” Ukai looked at their shared wall. Yelling could be heard through it. “I know.”

  
“Excuse me.” He closed the door and left. A second later, Ukai heard him shout at the team to shut up. It worked.

  
. . .

  
The first day of the camp was challenging. They played more than ten matches, and they lost every single one of them, but Hinata had faith in the next day going better for Karasuno. The other four teams were really good, and reuniting with the Nekoma pack and Bokuto and Akaashi had been very uplifting. There had been an awkward moment when they gave them condolences for Takeda, but Kuroo had been quick to switch the conversation back to less sad topics by taunting Daichi about how bad their team was.

  
They had some free time between the practice matches and dinner, so Hinata asked Kenma to toss some volleyballs for him. He had seen Kageyama try and fail to talk to the Nekoma setter about their setter things, and he’d decided to try to bridge their conversation.

  
“I’m tired,” Kenma said after a while. “I think I’m going to go get ready for dinner and all that.”

  
“Okay! See you later!”

  
Kageyama nodded. “See you.”

  
Kenma left and Hinata gave Kageyama two thumbs up. “You’re getting better at talking to people!”

  
A vein popped out of his forehead. “I’m trying!”

  
“And I’m congratulating you!” Hinata rolled his eyes. “You don’t have to get mad at everything!”

  
“I’m trying,” he repeated. Hinata bopped a finger against his nose. “What was that for?”

  
“To make you stop frowning.”

  
“I’ll frown if I want to!”

  
“Yeah? Race you to the dorm.”

  
Hinata left without a countdown or a warning, and Kageyama shot behind him. “That’s cheating!”

  
“And that’s losing!”

  
Kageyama ended up winning. They got to their room and started gathering their things for bath time. Hinata won that one, but only because Kageyama had emptied his bag out and was going through his things.

  
“Hey, I think my brush is missing.”

  
Hinata gasped. “So there is a thief!”

  
“Who would steal a hairbrush? Somebody probably mistook it for theirs.”

  
“The same person who stole my English notes…” Hinata mumbled and opened his bag. “Here, you can use mine.”

  
“You have a hairbrush?”

  
“My mom bought it for me and put it in my bag.” He shrugged. “I don’t use it, so take it.”

  
“Are you sure you don’t want it?”

  
Hinata messed his already messy hair. “I like my hair like this.” His eyes widened. “You don’t?”

  
“Of course I do!” Kageyama said, looking away.

  
“Liar!”

  
“Excuse me?”

  
“Look me in the eyes and tell me!”

  
Kageyama breathed deeply and held his stare. “I like your hair.” Hinata broke out into giggles. Kageyama took the hairbrush and started to leave. “You are unbearable.”


	3. The Boiling Point

The next morning’s matches weren’t much better. Even Hinata, with his boundless energy, was starting to get tired of the uphill run they took as penalty for every loss. They did the last one before lunch and stopped to catch their breaths before walking back down.

  
Hinata saw movement from the corner of his vision and turned to find a huge cat staring at them in the distance. “Agh! A tiger!”

  
“It has spots, not stripes,” Kageyama said, squinting his eyes. “That’s a cheetah.”

  
“You are both stupid,” sighed Tsukishima. “Look at the ears. That’s clearly a lynx. But I thought there were no lynxes in Japan…”

  
Hinata jumped to his feet. “I want to see it closer up!” The lynx turned tail and ran. “Oh.”

  
“You scared it away,” said Suga, patting Hinata’s head. “Haven’t you ever tried to pet a cat?”

  
Daichi got up and told them to get ready for lunch. The thought of food made Hinata instantly forget about his disappointment. He sat next to Yachi during the meal and overheard a conversation that made no sense to him.

  
“How did you sleep last night?” Kiyoko asked her in a whisper.

  
Yachi yawned. “She got back late, and I think she was drunk. She tripped over me and woke me up. And she snores.”

  
“Do you want to come back to our room?”

  
“No, it’s okay. Did you sleep well?”

  
“Yes.” Hinata could hear the smile in her voice and turned around without thinking. Kiyoko was blushing, and she looked away from him. Hinata decided to pretend he hadn’t heard anything.

  
. . .

  
“I’m still surprised that Tsuki-dude came block for us, bro!”

  
Kuroo nodded. “Me too, but I’m glad. He has potential.”

  
“I’m not gonna lie,” Bokuto lowered his voice, “I teared up a little.”

  
“Because he blocked for you?”

  
“No! Because of the other thing!”

  
“Oh. Yeah.” Kuroo shook his head. “I hope we helped him. It’s crazy that he blames himself for what happened.”

  
“I mean, I would too.”

  
“Bro…”

  
Bokuto put his hands up. “Hey, I know it’s not his fault, bro! But if I thought I was the reason that hunters had come to my town and then had stayed behind for the big fight where somebody died? I’d be even more depressed than him.”

  
“Yeah, I guess.” Kuroo scratched his chin. “They all seem pretty down, don’t they?”

  
“That dude with the shaved head seemed pretty pumped today, even though he lost every game.”

  
“Hey,” a shirtless Akaashi said from the door.

  
Kuroo smirked at Bokuto. “I guess that’s my cue to leave. Night, guys!”

  
“N-night, bro!”

  
“Good night, Kuroo.”

  
The middle blocker disappeared and Akaashi sat on the couch next to Bokuto, who started pinching his cheeks, trying to unfreeze his smile. “W-what’s happening?”

  
“I don’t know how, but I lost your blue shirt from Nationals.”

  
Bokuto still didn’t lose his smile. “You what my what now?”

  
“The t-shirt you gave me to sleep in? I left it in the changing room, but when I got out of the bathroom it was gone. I think someone took it.” Akaashi held his hands. “I’m sorry.”

  
“It’s fine! I didn’t like that t-shirt anyway!”

  
Akaashi raised his eyebrows. “You love that t-shirt. You said ‘Akaashi, I love this t-shirt and I love you, so I want you to wear this t-shirt’. It happened literally this morning. There were witnesses.”

  
“Right… But you know what? I changed my mind. You don’t need a shirt.”

  
“Well, I’m going to wear another shirt,” Akaashi started blushing, “I just wanted to tell you that I lost it.”

  
“I know!” Bokuto took his shirt off and handed it over. “You can wear this one!” Akaashi slipped it on and kept the neckline over his nose, covering half his face. Bokuto wriggled his eyebrows and flexed his arms. “Are you blushing? Hey, Keiji… are you blushing?”

  
He looked up at the ceiling. “No?”

  
“Yes, you are!” Bokuto got closer and pulled the shirt down his face. “I love you.”

  
Akaashi kissed him on the nose. “I love you more.”

  
Bokuto squealed and tackled him so they were both lying on the couch. He looked up at Akaashi from where his head rested on his chest. “I love you!”

  
Akaashi laughed and sat up a little to kiss his forehead. “I love you more.”

  
. . .

  
“Okay, which one of you little delinquents took my sleeping mask?” Saeko stormed into the boys’ room and pointed a finger at Tanaka immediately. “Give me your bag, you rascal!”

  
“Huh? Why would I take your sleeping mask?”

  
“Because you left yours at home!”

  
“Because I didn’t want anyone to know I sleep with a sleeping mask! So why would I take yours now?” He froze and laughed. “I mean. I don’t. Who said that?”

  
“Who was it, then? You! You look suspicious.” She pointed a finger at Asahi, who tried to hide behind Daichi.

  
“I didn’t take anything!”

  
“Hey, don’t go accusing my boyfriend of stealing, big sis!”

  
Saeko looked at Noya and then appraised Asahi again. She turned with a smirk towards the libero. “Damn, little bro. High five.” She turned to Yamaguchi and Tsukishima. “Well, I don’t trust you two either! This is your last chance to confess!”

  
“We didn’t take your face mask,” Tsukishima said, unimpressed.

  
“Sleeping mask! For my eyes!”

  
“Whatever.”

  
“We didn’t take it!” Yamaguchi looked a little scared of her. “Besides, somebody stole from Tsuki too!”

  
“Shut up…”

  
“What?” Suga crossed his arms. “Why didn’t you tell us? What did they take?”

  
“Nothing.”

  
The setter looked at Yamaguchi expectantly. He turned to Tsukishima with a guilty face. “Sorry, Tsuki.”

  
Hinata started jumping up and down the room. “See!? I was right! There’s a thief and they stole my English notes!”

  
Coach Ukai poked his head through the door. “Hey, has anyone seen my hairband?”

  
“I think everyone should empty their bags right now,” Saeko said, subtly blocking the way out. “Coach, bring the girls in, too. This ends now.”

  
He hesitated. “You think Kiyoko or Yachi could be the thief?”

  
“Absolutely not, but that way it’s fair for everyone.”

  
“What’s going on?” Kiyoko appeared next to Coach Ukai, Yachi behind her.

  
He sighed and tried to tame his loose hair. “Alright. Whoever it is, the prank ends now. Just come forward before it goes too far.” The boys looked around, but nobody spoke. “Okay, I see. Everyone close your eyes. Close them!” They did. “If you took the stuff or know who did, raise a hand and I’ll talk to you privately about how to give the things back. No one has to know it was you.” Nobody moved. “Well, I tried. Leave your bags on your bedrolls and line up on the wall.”

  
Shouts reached them through the ceiling. Hinata tried to make out what was being said. “I think that’s Kenma…” There was a loud thump, like something or someone crashing against the floor. “An attack?”

  
Coach Ukai groaned and started walking towards the stairs. The team followed, overtaking him.

  
“What does he mean by ‘an attack’?” Hinata heard Saeko ask.

  
“I don’t know!” answered Tanaka with a nervous laugh. “I think you should check my bag now!”

  
“You and your friends are so weird…”

  
Hinata found the Nekoma team’s bedroom door open. Kuroo was holding Kenma up by his armpits, and the setter was kicking the empty air and yelling. Hinata had never seen him so active. “Taketora, I’ll kill you!”

  
“I didn’t take it! Damn!”

  
“You’re lying! You’re always complaining about me playing videogames! Give it back!” Kenma was crying and pulling at Kuroo’s arms, trying to break free. “Let me go!”

  
“Absolutely not.” Kuroo had a tinge of anger to his tired voice. “Yamamoto, you promise you didn’t take his console?”

  
“Of course I didn’t!”

  
“Check his backpack!”

  
“Kenma…”

  
“No, check it! Go ahead!” Yamamoto grabbed his bag. “You can start preparing an apology, pudding head!”

  
Yaku, their libero, took the bag and started looking. Daichi walked in. “Hey, things are going missing in our rooms too.”

  
“It’s not here, Kenma,” Yaku said, handing the backpack over to its owner. “And you know nobody here would do that to you.”

  
Kenma stopped fighting Kuroo, and he settled him back on his feet. He wiped at his nose. “Where is it then?”

  
“What’s going on?” Akaashi and Bokuto’s head turned up. “We could hear you from two floors down!”

  
“There’s a thief,” said Daichi. “We should ask the other teams if it’s happening to them, too.”

  
“Don’t bother. They all go home for the night.” Kuroo clapped his hands. “Everyone, keep an eye on your things. Captains, we’ll meet in the waiting room downstairs in fifteen minutes.”

  
“Bro, you’re so cool when you get all professional and stuff!”

  
“Well, someone has to,” Kuroo gave him a doubtful look, “boss.”

  
Bokuto straightened up. His body was now half visible too, and Hinata saw that he was not wearing a shirt. “I’m professional! Akaashi, when am I not professional?”

  
Akaashi sighed and dragged him away from the door.


	4. The Thief In The Night

“Here, take mine.”

  
Kenma looked at the console Kuroo was pressing to his hand. “You brought it? But you never play during the training camps…”

  
“I bring it anyway, just in case.”

  
Kenma turned it on. He didn’t look at Kuroo. “I’m sorry I got so upset earlier.”

  
“Did you apologize to Yamamoto?”

  
He nodded. Kenma went through the starting screens and stopped at the ‘load game’ or ‘new game’ option. “You’re about to beat the game.”

  
“And?”

  
“I don’t want to beat it for you.”

  
“Start a new one, then.”

  
“But you’re about to finish it!” Kuroo took it from him and pressed ‘new game’. “Hey, don’t-“ He’d already pressed the button to delete the saved data. “Tetsuro!”

  
“There you go.” Kenma wouldn’t take it, so he left it on his crossed legs. “You can play now.” A drop fell on the screen. “Hey, c’mon. It’s not that-“ Kenma’s arms around his neck cut his sentence short.

  
“Thank you.”

  
Kuroo kissed the top of his head. “I’ll find yours, okay? But I have to go talk to the other captains for that.” Kenma nodded and let him go.

  
He stood up and turned to leave. “I love you,” Kenma whispered.

  
When Kuroo looked at him, he was already playing. He walked over to leave a second kiss on his hair, but Kenma raised his face for a kiss on the lips. Kuroo took the hint. “I love you. I’ll be back.”

  
Yaku met him at the stairwell. The Fukurodani and Karasuno captains and vice-captains were already waiting for them.

  
“Everything alright?” Daichi asked. Kuroo nodded at him. “Suga and I were thinking of staying up and keeping an eye on our floor. The stolen things were not in our room, and if there’s someone surveilling, we’ll either catch the thief or prevent them from stealing.”

  
“There was nothing in ours, either. And I’m in.”

  
Yaku nodded. “We’ll stay up too.”

  
“And you’re all sure that those things were not just lost, right?” asked Bokuto.

  
“Kenma would never lose his videogame console.”

  
Bokuto gasped. “The one I made out with?”

  
Kuroo winced. “I really wish you would have worded it differently, bro.”

  
. . .

  
Daichi and Suga had barely started their patrol when somebody sneaked out of the boys’ room. With his heart falling to his feet, Daichi used his werewolf sight and grabbed his arm. “Tanaka? Are you the thief?”

  
“What? Of course not!”

  
Suga crossed the corridor to meet them. “Where were you going so secretly, then?”

  
“I…” Tanaka swallowed. “Okay, I’m the thief.”

  
Daichi shook his head. “How could you?”

  
Suga snorted. “He’s obviously lying.”

  
A door slid open behind them. Kiyoko walked out in her pajamas, tying a sleeping robe around her waist. “He was coming to my room.”

  
Daichi frowned. “What? Why?” He turned at Suga’s loud gasp.

  
“Shimizu Kiyoko. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me. Who else knows?”

  
“Knows what?”

  
“My sister knows,” Tanaka said. “And Noya.”

  
“Wait, where’s Yachi?”

  
“She knows too. She moved to Saeko’s room.”

  
Suga had his hands on his hips and kept shaking his head. “I don’t know if I can forgive you for this one.”

  
“I’ll tell you everything tomorrow.”

  
The setter beamed. “Okay! Goodnight, lovebirds!”

  
“Wait…” Daichi’s brain was still reeling. “It finally happened? They’re dating?”

  
“Yes!” Tanaka said in a whispered scream. “I still can’t believe it either!”

  
Daichi started laughing. “Remember when Hinata asked if Kageyama and him were the only ones single? It sure is getting close to it.”

  
Suga scoffed. “Please. Kageyama and Hinata are dating too.”

  
“What?”

  
“Yeah, dude,” Tanaka said, “it’s super obvious.”

  
“Did they say?”

  
“No, but just look at them. Kageyama barely even yells at him anymore.”

  
Daichi looked at Suga. He felt, as he usually did, awe. “How do you always know everything?”

  
His boyfriend snaked an arm around his waist. “My love, you lead the pack, but I manage it.”

  
“What were you doing out here?” asked Kiyoko, taking her glasses from the robe’s pocket and putting them on. “Do you need help?”

  
“We’re just looking for the thief. You two can go to bed.”

  
Just as he finished the sentence, yelling started coming from the stairs. The four of them sprinted down to the first floor.

  
“Get back here, leopard!”

  
“Kotaro, that was a lynx.”

  
“What happened?” Daichi asked, before covering his mouth to try to not laugh out loud.

  
The captain and the libero of Nekoma got there a second after them, and Kuroo did not bother with pretense. “Bro! Are you… Bro!” He couldn’t form a full sentence. He was laughing so hard he had to lean on Yaku for support.

  
The captain of Fukurodani and leader of the Tokyo packs was halfway through an air vent. His lower body hang out of it. He was kicking like a fish flopping around in hopes to get back to water. “I’m stuck!”

  
“We noticed. Kuroo, help?”

  
“Akaashi, I can’t get out! Help me!”

  
“I don’t think he can hear us,” Kuroo walked over to Akaashi and brought his phone out. “I need a picture of this.”

  
“Come on, don’t.” Akaashi pushed the phone down and Kuroo sighed and put it away. He slapped Bokuto’s leg and he stopped flailing. Then, he slapped his butt.

  
“Keiji!” Bokuto whistled suggestively. “Let me out first!”

  
Akaashi couldn’t suppress a laugh this time. “Kuroo! Help me get him out!”

  
“Yeah, yeah.” He grabbed his thighs and Akaashi took his calves, and together they dragged Bokuto out.

  
“Oh, no.” He looked at Kuroo and the rest of the group. “Did everyone see me?”

  
Kuroo patted his shoulder. “Yup. And I don’t know about them, but I’m gonna tell people.”

  
“Bro…” Daichi thought Bokuto’s hair had been spikier seconds before. “I got into the vent following the leopard… I did it for Kenma, bro…”

  
“Lynx.”

  
“No, I’m pretty sure his name is Kenma.”

  
Kuroo sighed. “Okay. I’ll keep it to myself.”

  
“A lynx?” Daichi joined them. “We saw a lynx this morning. It left for the woods.”

  
“I think I could follow its scent,” said Bokuto. “Let’s go!”

  
They got out into the night and found an open air vent. From there, Bokuto got even more confident, and they followed him through the trees. Four pairs of red eyes and just as many in yellow shone through the forest. They found a cave, and a lynx standing before it, ready to pounce.

  
Akaashi walked forward while Bokuto gestured for them to hold. “We just want our things back. We don’t want to hurt you.” The lynx didn’t attack, but it also didn’t move away. “Please, step aside.” He gave a low growl and the lynx sat down. Its eyes gleamed yellow. “What?”

  
“It’s a werewolf?”

  
“A werelynx,” Suga corrected Daichi, “but yes, it seems so.”

  
“Hey! Turn back to human, you coward!” Bokuto yelled, getting in front of Akaashi. The vice-captain put a hand on his shoulder.

  
“Wait… I don’t think it can.”

  
“I’ll see about that!”

  
Bokuto let out a roar that shook the treetops. Through the falling leaves, Daichi could see the lynx struggling on the ground. The fur gave way to human skin. There were some gasps, but Daichi didn’t see why. Suga grabbed him and turned him around. Kiyoko walked towards the cave.

  
“Akaashi! Call the police! They have to take me to prison!”

  
“What’s happening?” Daichi muttered, but Suga was just laughing.

  
“I didn’t mean to look! I should be arrested!”

  
“Bokuto, I don’t think the police will understand what happened here.”

  
“Here you go,” Kiyoko said behind their backs. “Are you okay? Do you know where you are?”

  
A girl’s raspy voice answered. She sounded like she had woken up from a really long nap. “What… what happened to me?”

  
“You were stuck in your lynx form,” Kiyoko answered. It sounded like they were getting up, and Suga turned around.

  
“In my what?”

  
“Wait. I’ve seen her before.” He got closer to her and she stumbled back at his lit up eyes, holding Kiyoko’s robe tighter against herself. “Suzuki Hina?”

  
“Yes? I… I don’t know you.”

  
“Sugawara Koshi.” He gave her a sad smile. “I saw you in some posters. I’m afraid you’ve been missing since April.”


	5. The Treasure Cove (Epilogue)

After having another one of their werewolf talks, at which Suga was getting pretty good if he said so himself, and helping her craft a story for her disappearance, they called the police. Bokuto gave her the number of the Shinzen pack alpha and a billion apologies, and she apologized in turn for taking their stuff. After getting bitten, she hadn’t known how to shift back to human, and her animal instinct had taken over. Then, the cops came with her family, and they said goodbye. The irony of them solving a missing person’s case didn’t escape Suga. Nor the irony of the person being a shifter. But he was completely thrilled about it. Good things had to happen sometimes.

  
The other team captains had already taken their missing things with them, but Daichi had decided to bring the pack to the cave, since there were a lot of stolen things in it and he wasn’t sure what belonged to whom. They did grab Saeko’s sleeping mask and Coach Ukai’s hairband. The first, because they couldn’t exactly explain to her how it had ended up there, and the second, because it made Daichi uneasy to see their coach without it.

  
They came back with everyone. Hinata found his English notes, a little chewed up. Kageyama’s hairbrush was covered in dirt, so he took it, but only to throw it away in a recycling bin later. Others recognized some of their own things that they hadn’t even noticed were gone, and finally, everyone looked at Tsukishima. Suga himself had been looking discreetly, curious about what had been stolen from him.

  
He gave them a murderous look and stepped into the cave. He grabbed something and hid it under his shirt.

  
“No way! I want to know!” Hinata tried to grab it and Tsukishima slapped his hand away.

  
“Try it again and they won’t find your body.”

  
“Come on!” Kageyama was smiling slightly. Hinata’s influence on him was surprising. “How embarrassing could it be?”

  
Noya jumped on his back and held down his arms. Tanaka took advantage of the distraction and lifted his shirt. Something green fell out of it, landing on Tanaka's hands. “A stuffed animal?”

  
“It’s a stuffed stegosaurus, dumbass! Give it back!”

  
Yamaguchi pushed Kageyama, although he wasn’t the only one cracking up. “Stop laughing!”

  
Suga shushed them and laughter stopped. “Why did you bring a stuffed stegosaurus to the trip?”

  
“Because it’s always close to me when I sleep,” Tsukishima huffed, holding the stuffed dinosaur behind his back. “Leave me alone.”

  
“Did you bring it to the other Tokyo trips too?” asked Noya.

  
“Yes.”

  
“To the full moon sleepovers?”

  
Tsukishima shot a look at Hinata. “Yes! What about it?”

  
“What’s his name?” Yachi asked.

  
“Aki,” he said, looking at the ground. “My brother gave it to me.”

  
“That’s the most adorable thing I’ve ever heard,” said Kiyoko.”

  
Tsukishima rolled his eyes and started towards the dorm. “Whatever.”

  
“Leave him out! We’ll make him a little bed!” Noya ran in front of him and started walking backwards. “He’s super cute! I’ll give him my title. He can be Karasuno’s new Guardian God!”


End file.
